And again…

We have no more details, this photograph up for less than an hour. The caption reads:

Two British army vehicles are seen destroyed on a road in Basra, 550 kilometers 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 29, 2006. Unknown gunmen attacked a British army convoy on the southern outskirts of Basra, burning two armored vehicles, police said. AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani.

There is nothing on the MoD website (as yet) so one must assume that (fortunately) no British troops have been killed. The MoD does not routinely issue details on injuries, though – so we cannot be assured that all the troops escaped uninjured.

However, on what might be the eve of Saddam Hussein's execution, this has to be considered a bold attack. As can be seen from this above and this second photograph, the attack took place in the open – no ambush in the narrow street of Basra this. And, once again, Snatch Land Rovers are in the firing line – and found wanting.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the Daily Mail is reporting that the government's timetable to transfer power in the southern Basra province had slipped beyond the end of 2007/beginning of 2008.

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